Purple Martin Forum

Hey Dave....congrats on the start of your colony. One of your questions had to do with "what to expect/timing with nests". If you don't have one, you might considering buying a PM prognosticator from the PM shop; it's very helpful, helping to calculate egg hatching dates, when the hatchlings will fl...

Not seeing a great deal of PM's moving through, but we went from 2 pair (12 fledglings) last year, to currently having 5 pair with 24 eggs (as of this morning/expect that number to still increase by a few).

Hope everyone else is having a successful season.

Last year was our first year to successfully host PM's (2 pair, 12 eggs/12 fledglings). So far (I swear, I don't think we've had a single SY martin) we have 6 nests with eggs (ranging from 1 - 4), with the first being laid on the 22nd. Hoping for a late push of northbound martins. Good luck to all o...

Sweet. The "reaching in and lifting up" would have been a nervous moment for me.

One kind of a different note, you guys ever have any of your hatchlings/adults banded?

Is it just me, or does it startle the dickens out of you when you do nest checks and find PM's still in the nest. Lowering the Gemini rack isn't silent (and, yep, I tap on the pole a couple of times, announcing my arrival), and most all of the PM's fly out/off, protesting noisely as they circle arou...

Just to tag onto an excellent post….another author years ago had suggested trying different types/design of pellets, to discover which your rifle "likes" best. It was a great tip, as I found my RWS Diana .177 sparrow/starling slayer shot a significantly smaller pattern using Meisterkugeln 8.2 grain ...

Not patient enough to flip cricket-after-cricket.....just lower the Gemini rack, place 10-or-so crickets on the porch of the Troyer gourds.....the PM's fly back up to their gourd, and usually eat three or four big crickets. Hopefully, the insect population is gaining strength, making feeding not nec...

Great news, Tim. I'm certain your birds appreciate your efforts, and will likely help to quickly increase the resident population at the quarry.

Hey Lynn….no wonder we have a hard time getting martins north of you :grin: . Seriously, sounds like a great set-up. We're operating on a much smaller scale (for now) in far western WI. Finally had two pair call our Gemini rack home last season, and fledged 12 little-martin-persons. First pairing we...

Great news, Mitch. Keep "those cards & letters" coming, to keep us posted on how the season progresses.

Hey Roger.....really early for us to expect a great influx of PM's (first pair last year was May 4). Currently tickled to have 3 pair; hope to attract a couple more, and also anticipating the subadult's return. Regarding scopes, ours is one of the single eyepiece Bushnells. If money was no object (b...

Deb….I'm sure everyone else appreciates your comment/feelings on dispatching a sparrow. Another VERY quick/humane method (Brenda mentioned CO2/plastic bag) is to have the sparrow/starling exit the trap into a plastic bag….one quick spray of starting fluid (ether) will do the trick.

Have 3 pair back early (for western WI)….weather has been marginal, and--although the birds are out soaring high most of they day--I can't imagine with high's of only 50, there are a lot of bugs to be had. Luckily, the 3 pair are in the Gemini rack. I've lowered it the last couple of days, mid-morni...

That is the trap I've used with great success.

Good luck!

Not a direct answer to your question (sorry), but I have had really good luck using a gourd with a Troyer's round entrance (the type with a small hole just above the entrance hole). A small diameter wire supports a flat slide which deploys to close off the entrance when tripped. They, of course, req...

Looks like things are running a little ahead of schedule this year. Hope the number of cold "snaps" we usually encounter are few.

Good luck in the coming season.

Please accept our sincerest condolensces on the passing of your Mom, Dallas. Holding all of the memories of our loved ones close at heart until that grandest of all reunions that GOD holds in-store for us is the hope we must hold on to.

It's so enjoyable reading of the returning martins, and checking out the latest arrivals. We are still about 90 days (give or take a week, or so), until we have any returning PM's.

Look forward to reading about arrivals from all of our friends "down south".

Beautiful set-up, Tony. Now I see why we have more difficulty getting martins north of you… .

Best wishes on a successful 2016 season.

Your neighbors to the north,

You know, you folks down south with housing/set-up's like this make it REALLY tough on those of us living up north. :grin: I mean, other than full housing, why would any self-respecting PM fly past such a goregous offering. Beautiful set-up Keep us updated as your returning birds come home…..makes t...